The studies list included
English, rhetoric, natural
philosophy, literature, geology,
government, zoology, mythology,
botany, astronomy, mental
philosophy, chemistry, French,
German, Spanish, music and the
arts.
May 23, 1877: Peorians
welcome their newly consecrated
bishop, John Lancaster Spalding,
with a joyous reception in the
study hall of the Academy of Our
Lady.
1898 –
September 1901:
Archbishop John Lancaster
Spalding, the first Bishop of
Peoria, donated his personal
wealth to establish a Catholic
high school for boys. He
purchased the corner of Jackson
and Madison from Alexander
and Lucie Tyng, noted Peoria
education activists.
Originally called “St. Mary’s
Academy,” public pressure to
use the Spalding name mounted.
The bishop relented to the name
“
Spalding Institute” in honor of
his late brother, Fr. Ben Spalding.
The final cost of the Flemish
Renaissance-style limestone
building was over $60,000.
Spalding opened its doors in
September 1901 to 60 boys and
three faculty members.
September 1903: Spalding
Institute fields its first football
team. The nickname was not “the
Fighting Irish” but “the Purple.”
June 13, 1929: A new addition
to the Academy was dedicated
by Bishop Edmund Dunne, the
second Bishop of Peoria.
The new building was
designed in the more American
art deco style with 22 new
classrooms, a chapel, offices,
library, auditorium, bookstore,
and gymnasium.
The Sisters were especially
proud of the new science
laboratories considered the best
in the Midwest.
April 1947: Construction
is completed on 12 large
new classrooms and science
laboratories built adjacent to the
original school. It is named “the
Schlarman Annex” after Bishop
Joseph H. Schlarman, who
provided the funding.
Feb. 8, 1953: Bishop William E.
Cousins blessed and presented
to Peoria its largest and newest
high school gymnasium. The new
Spalding gym cost $750,000 and
its sleek modern design stood
in sharp contrast to the very
European-styled main building.
Seating for 3,200 fans meant
the massive hardwood basketball
floors and modern scoreboards
could be enjoyed for years to
come. The lower level held the
new cafeteria, which doubled
as the popular Catholic Youth
Center.
11
thePeorian.com
The Past
Spalding Institute, 1901, left, and Academy of Our Lady in 1870.
Continued on page 12
